1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to gas turbine engines and, in particular, to a flexible seal system that may be mounted between engine cases utilizing a plurality of mounting spacers.
2. Background Information
Various gas turbine engine configurations are known in the art. One such gas turbine engine configuration includes a flexible seal connected between an engine turbine section and an engine nozzle section. The flexible seal is designed to accommodate relative shifts between the turbine section and the nozzle section.
The flexible seal may include a first mounting flange and a second mounting flange and each mounting flange is compressed between two respective mounting plates. The mounting plates respectively secure the first and second mounting flanges to the turbine section and the nozzle section. Compressing the mounting flanges between the mounting plates to a predetermined compression value, however, may be difficult to achieve and repeat due to the compressible nature of the flexible seal material. The mounting flanges therefore are often over-compressed between the mounting plates during installation, which may cause damage to the flexible seal over several thermal cycles. Where the mounting flanges are under-compressed, however, air may leak between the mounting flanges and the mounting plates, which may reduce engine performance and efficiency.